Art X – The Redemption Of Cain Copy

Art X comes from a precise idea of Gabriele Bernasconi: creating a new musical entity. Gabriele is the sole author of the concept, and writer of the whole musical and lyrical content. This first record takes the form of a classic rock opera, inspired by the Biblical tale of Cain and Abel. As in all great rock operas, musicians and singers giving voice to the various characters of the story come from all over the world.

Let’s take a step back and talk a bit about Gabriele Bernasconi. He was born in Como, Italy in 1981, and during his early teenage years he started playing with local bands. His longest experience was 15 years as the front-man of Clairvoyants, a classic metal band that became nationally famous producing two records and performing hundreds of gigs in Italy and abroad. Half-way along this path, together with the band’s manager, he decided to give birth to a different musical project, involving international artists that for various reasons came into contact with Clairvoyants during the years. The idea slowly takes a definite shape, and many guests respond enthusiastically about the project and the concept.

The first line-up to be completed is that of the musicians. Luca Princiotta, guitar player of DORO and Gabriele’s band mate in Clairvoyants. On the keyboards Oliver Palotai of Kamelot, whose contribution becomes invaluable during the orchestration and arrangement phase. On bass a giant between heavy metal bass players: Steve DiGiorgio of Testament, whose unmistakable touch and precision resound through all of the songs. Ondrums Giuseppe Orlando, a very talented drummer who played for years in the successful melodic death metal band Novembre.

The cast of singers is completed in the course of the following months: accompanying Gabriele in Cain’s role, we have Roberto Tiranti (Labyrinth, WonderWorld) in Abel’s role, André Matos (Angra, Shaaman) as the Angel of God, the wonderful Amanda Sommerville in the role of Lilith, the unmistakable voice of Zachary Stevens (Savatage, CIIC) as the Keeper of Eden, and two male roles that will surprise the listener with their intense pathos: Blaze Bayley (Wolfsbane, Iron Maiden as Adam) and a “monstrous” Tim Aymar (Control Denied, Pharaoh) as Lucifer. There is also room for two newcomers: Lucia Emmanueli (Trewa) as Cain’s wife, and Selina Iussich as Eve.

The Redemption of Cain is a complex work, winking to direct melodies and magnificent choirs, but rich with moments of great emotional and technical intensity.
The artwork was a key part of this work as well; it is an entirely hand drawn painting by Eliran Kantor (famous for his works with Testament, Iced Earth, Sodom and many others) depicting the strongest and most painful moment of the story: the desperation of Cain right after killing his own brother.